The Man Who Moved Two Windmills
Jordan Ison, Histon’s Carpenter Extraordinary
with David Oates
7.30 pm on Monday 4thth July 2022 at Histon Baptist Church and via Zoom.
A talk organized jointly with Histon & Impington Village Society for
Histon & Impington Feast Week
Talk Synopsis:
Jordan Ison (1890 – 1967) was a carpenter, undertaker and builder working from his yard off Narrow Lane, Histon. The site now occupied by Windmill Grange. He particularly enjoyed working on anything a bit out of the ordinary and finding his way round the problems it presented.
Following work for Mr Ambrose Harding at Histon Manor, he was the natural choice in 1936 to move the derelict windmill from Ellington, Hunts onto Mr Harding’s property at Madingley Hill. He was famous for his motto
“What man has done, man can do again.”
Not surprisingly, Mr Ison was subsequently employed in 1952 by Lord Fairhaven to move and restore the ruinous fen pumping mill at Wicken Fen, the last of its kind.
His work included a number of items for churches and a notable experiment in drying out a 4000 year old bog oak from the fen, preserving it to be used in woodwork. His later work included some very fine ornamental work showing a wide range of techniques.
Mr Ison was completely dedicated to his trade and we will see many examples of his work and tools in the talk and on display.
Speaker Biography:
David grew up in a house overlooking Histon Green, with the Green and many fields now built on as his playground. His parents, Ken and Dellas Oates, were among the founders of the Village Society, with a great interest in the local history. Jordan Ison was a family friend and was generous in helping David to complete a school woodwork project in his workshop.
After a career spent as a university lecturer in mathematics, David returned to the district to follow his parents interests and to place their extensive collection of local material into safe keeping. Feeling the absence of practical archaeological content in the advanced diploma course in historic environment that he took at the university’s Institute of Continuing Education, he founded the Histon and Impington Archaeology Group to enable local people to enjoy and carry out the research which is now building up a distinguished record of the past history of the villages.
Histon & Impington Archaeology Group 